ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO10618
Open Date: 04/03/2021
Closing Date: 28/04/2021 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 20.112.26
Prog. Ref.: Technology Developme
Budget Ref.: E/0901-01 – Technology Developme
Special Prov.: AT+BE+CH+CZ+DE+DK+EE+ES+FI+FR+GB+GR+HU+IE+IT+LU+NL+NO+PL+PT+RO+SE
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Products: Ground Segment / Ground Station / Antennas / Structure & Thermal, Servo / Mechanics, Reflectors, feeds and diplexers, Antenna Control Units (ACUs), Drive Systems, …
Technology Domains: Ground Station Systems and Networks / Ground Station System / Microwave and Optical Active/Passive Systems
Establishment: ESOC
Directorate: Directorate of Operations
Department: Ground Systems Eng. & Innovation Dept.
Division: Ground Station Engineering Division
Contract Officer: Bednarek, Maren
Industrial Policy Measure: C3 – Activities restricted to SMEs & R&D organisations, prefe…
Last Update Date: 04/03/2021
Update Reason: Tender issue

Objectives:Design a multi-tier passive laser safety system for the safe automated operation of laser (Class 4) emitting optical ground stations.Develop and validate an image recognition based real-time laser-aircraft collision warning system with low failure probability, using cameras in different spectral regions.Demonstrate low failure probability by integrating and testing the developedsystem in a suitable, existing laser ranging station.Description:Upcoming operational networks of Laser Ranging Stations (LRS; e.g. for Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G) orbit monitoring or for commercial debris collision avoidance services) require full robotic operation.A key enabling element of such optical ground stations is a failure proof recognition of aircrafts in the surrounding airspace, to avoid collision of the laser beam with the aircraft. It is essential that one can demonstrate the robustness of the system and agree with local authorities on procedures to get an operational permission to operate such a Class-4 laser based ranging stations. Any single sensor alone (e.g. visible cameras, infrared cameras, air traffic transponders and collision warning system) does notcover all air traffic (ground traffic is easily covered with existing proven methods). Data fusion of all receivers is required. Monitoring cameras with failure-proof image recognition are the missing element to replace an observer that is required by most authorities. The observer is a show-stopper for any operational application, as it drives operational cost and does not allow a fully integrated measurement and operation pipeline.This activity thus addresses the failure-proof aircraft image recognition system in a sensor combination of cameras in different spectral regions.In a follow-on activity, it is intended to integrate this sub-system intoan overall passive laser safety system at higher TRL, together with the remaining non-optical air traffic detection systems, and validate the failure tolerance of the overall system.C3: Activity restricted to SMEs RD organisations, preferably in cooperation